Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) Archives

This image is an immuno-scanning electron micrograph of a primary cilium, taken from an intact human pancreatic islet. The cilium is a microtubule-based structure and is seen here labelled with colloidal gold for acetylated alpha tubulin. In contrast, there is a lawn of short dense microvilli which are actin-based and cover the beta cell membrane. Both cilia and microvilli serve important roles for beta cell glucose sensing and signalling.